Now that Nathan had mastered all the techniques revealed to him, there was no need to remain in the abyss any longer. The cavern had been his crucible, its silence his teacher, its shadows his companions. But the marble’s imprint had given him what it could for now. To grow stronger, he would need more than stone and solitude—he would need to explore the world.
And so he decided to leave the place that had been his home for months.
The cliff face loomed above, jagged and merciless, stretching for miles into the light. Once, it would have been impossible for him to leave this place—but now it was different.
Step by step he ascended, Silver Step carrying him upward with rhythm and precision, his body moving as though the mountain itself recoiled from his determination. Stones cracked beneath his stride, qi pulsed in harmony with the marble in his dantian, and the abyss that had swallowed him months ago yielded to his resolve.
The climb was merciless, winds howling and loose rocks threatening to betray his footing, yet his spirit did not falter. He pressed onward. At last, after crossing hundreds of meters in relentless ascent, Nathan pulled himself over the final ledge. He rose upon the summit where his life had ended and begun anew, silver fire gleaming in his eyes—the mountain itself now witness to his rebirth.
But Nathan did not return to the Azul Sky Sect. The spires of jade roofs gleamed faintly in the distance, just beyond the grove where he had once fetched water. As much as he desired vengeance, to return now would be to invite destruction. His rebirth was a secret, and secrets were power. Therefore vengeance will have to wait until he’s strong enough. And so instead, he descended toward the Azul City that sprawled at the mountain’s base, a place of noise and bustle, far removed from the silence of the abyss.
It was his first time in Azul City, and it struck him like a storm—its chaos a world he had only ever glimpsed in maps while dusting shelves and overheard in passing tales. Merchants shouted from crowded stalls, hawking wares of silk, steel, and spirit herbs. Children darted through alleys, laughter mingling with the clamor of bells and the scent of roasted meats. Disciples from minor sects strode proudly in their colored robes, while common folk bowed or scurried aside. Nathan moved among them quietly, his plain garments ragged and torn, threatening to fall apart with each step. He felt the weight of his anonymity—no one spared him a glance, yet every glance he caught reminded him of what he lacked.
He needed spirit stones. Without them, cultivation would stagnate, his qi unable to grow beyond the spark he had kindled. He needed clothing, for his servant’s rags marked him as destitute and vulnerable. He needed a place to rest his head and food, a plan, and a way to live in a world that had already discarded him once.
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Nathan wandered through the marketplace, pondering how he might obtain what he required. Theft was beneath him, and begging would betray his vow. He considered labor, but the thought of returning to servitude filled him with quiet rage. He was no longer a faceless shadow sweeping floors—he was a cultivator reborn, a bearer of the Celestial Silver Method. His path demanded opportunity, not drudgery.
As he lingered near a tea house, the murmur of conversation reached his ears. Two disciples in azure robes spoke in hushed tones, their words edged with excitement. Nathan stilled, listening. They spoke of a hidden realm, a pocket of space said to open tomorrow at dawn within the Azure Forest, deep in the heart of the Azure Region. It was no ordinary occurrence; the gateway revealed itself only once every one hundred and fifty years, each cycle recorded in sect annals and clan legends.
For cultivators, it was both danger and promise, a crucible where treasures long forgotten awaited those bold enough to claim them. Once opened, the gateway would remain for thirty days before collapsing, its laws allowing entry only to those within the Qi Condensation realm. Mortals would be torn apart by its pressure, and higher?realm cultivators rejected by its threshold. And when the thirty days ended, the realm itself would shatter, expelling all who lingered—or burying them with its secrets. Most of the major sects had already dispatched their disciples, eager to seize fortune and glory before the chance vanished for another century and a half.
Nathan’s heart quickened. To the sect disciples, the hidden realm was a trial, a chance to win prestige. But to him, it was salvation. Spirit stones were more than fuel for cultivation—they were currency, the lifeblood of the world beyond the sect. With them he could buy clothing to shed the rags of servitude, food to sustain his journey, and a foothold in a society that had already cast him aside. All of it might lie within. He had nothing, yet here was a path carved by heaven itself. If destiny could be rewritten, then this was where his story would begin anew.
Nathan recalled a map he had once glimpsed in the Azul Sky Sect’s archives while on dusting duty, a chart of the Azure Region that marked the great forest at its heart. Though he had never traveled beyond the sect’s walls before, the memory of that map guided him now. Fixing the location in his mind, he set out toward the Azure Forest.
The journey was long. Even with his cultivation, it took him a day and a half by foot to reach the forest’s edge. He stopped along the way to hunt small game and gather roots, sustaining himself as he pressed onward. Each step carried him farther from the familiar walls of the sect and deeper into the unknown.
When at last he entered the Azure Forest, its canopy swallowed the sky, and the air grew heavy with ancient qi. Nathan found a quiet clearing and began preparing a simple meal, the crackle of firewood steady against the silence. Yet before he could eat, a sharp sound cut through the stillness—the clash of weapons, the surge of qi.
